Our Latest Developments
We are continuing to forge ahead with the development of new homes for single people, families and the elderly across the West Midlands and in the latter half of 2009 we completed our latest housing scheme - a £1.5m housing development in Junction Street, Dudley that has brought much needed affordable homes to the area.
This new housing project, which was developed in partnership with The Matrix Housing Partnership, comprises thirteen one and two bedroomed apartments for rent. The apartments are suitable for single people and families and two of the apartments are able to accommodate wheel chair users. It has been partly funded by the Homes & Communities Agency who provided £400,000 of grant towards the cost of the project.
Affordable housing in Dudley reflects the national picture of being in short supply with many people struggling to get on the property ladder or find suitable rented property out of the private property market. This development follows from a detailed housing needs survey carried out by Nehemiah UCHA and is the second development by the association in the Dudley area.
The Junction Street scheme in Construction
MORE DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Over the next few years we will also be busy with refurbishment work, since over half of our stock was developed or acquired during the first five years of the Association’s life back in the early nineties. The majority of these older properties now require refurbishment works all at the same time, and this is going to be a difficult balancing act to keep within our budgets but continue to maintain our stock to a high standard.
By 2014, the situation should have eased, as properties built after the first few years were developed in smaller tranches.
In terms of developing new homes there are a number of development opportunities for the next 2 years and this will help the organisation grow.
An extension to one of our retirement schemes, Charles Pearson Court, of 5 flats, 4 of them having two bedrooms and a communal lounge is awaiting HCA approval and is due for completion in March 2010. This scheme will become an Extra Care Scheme when the extension is completed.
We were also successful in our bid to Urban Living for a ‘Smart Technology’ specification in the sum of £70,000. There are also several schemes at the
feasibility stage across the West Midlands which we hope to complete in 2010 and 2011.
The Association also has a planned programme of transferring the ownership of the properties developed for us by our partners into our ownership which should reduce lease charges and be beneficial to all.